Solution Centers

Get that syncing feeling with DirSync Pro

If you work on multiple machines with different operating systems, you probably still want to have all your resources available, no matter where you are. If some of those resources are files, you can keep them in sync across all your platforms with DirSync Pro, a lightweight but powerful Java utility for file and folder synchronization whose most recent version was released last week.

DirSync Pro sports an easy-to-use GUI and can synchronize the contents of one directory or many folders recursively. It can check file modification times, and therefore make incremental backups, saving the time you’d otherwise spend copying files that haven’t changed. It supports bidirectional synchronization, and also has powerful command-line facilities.

DirSync Pro is not only lightweight and cross-platform, it’s also portable. You can run the software from a USB thumb drive. You can even make an auto-run for it to trigger auto-synchronization when you plug in your device.

Dutch programmer Omid Givi ran across the application, which was then called dirsync, when he went looking for such a synchronization program a couple of years ago. “I used it for a while, and somehow I got involved developing it. Previous project manager Frank Gerbig wanted to retire, so I took the project over, and renamed it DirSync Pro.

“I use Eclipse to code, the NetBeans GUI editor to maintain the GUI, Ant to build stuff, the GIMP for graphic manipulation, and OpenOffice.org to maintain the help pages – all open source projects that do exactly what I need them to do.

“For upcoming versions I’m working on some easy-to-use preconfigured synchronization profiles, such as full backup, incremental backup, and synchronize left and right, so first-time users can set up a sync with only a couple of clicks. FTP synchronization and scheduling jobs will come after that.

“If you are willing to contribute to the code, graphics, help files, testing, or anything else you think can help, please contact me.”

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